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Things To Consider When Upgrading or Downgrading a Network Management Card 2 (NMC2) Device between v5.X.X and v6.X.X

Issue

Scenario 1: My Network Management Card 2 (NMC2) device shipped with or was updated to v6.X.X version of firmware and now I need to downgrade it to v5.1.X. Will this work and if so, what should I be worried about? Are there any special steps to do this?

Scenario 2: My Network Management Card 2 (NMC2) device shipped with or was updated to v6.X.X version of firmware and now I need to downgrade it to v5.1.X. I already tried this and its not working.

Scenario 3: Do I need to worry about upgrading my Network Management Card 2 (NMC2) from v5.0.X or v5.1.X to v6.X.X?

All installations of v6.X.X firmware with the aforementioned applications

Users wishing to downgrade their firmware for a particular reason (i.e. your new card came with v6.X.X but you standardize on a different ,earlier version)

Users wishing to upgrade their firmware (to take advantage of new features and/or bug fixes)

Cause

Please note that v6.X.X is a major revision of firmware. v6.X.X of the firmware contains major changes. For instance, user types are different. Downgrading is unsupported, and will without a doubt cause unexpected results or be prevented altogether without noting certain items.

It is recommended to review the v6.X.X user's guide for full understanding of the new user levels and applicable configuration items.

Note: Most user and system settings will NOT survive a downgrade.

Resolution

Knowledge base FA176047 is a highly recommended reading regarding v6.X.X FAQ beyond the content of this article for other documented issues questions.

Upgrading

v5.0.X->v6.X.X upgrade path will cause a loss of TCP/IP settings. You can avoid this by going v5.0.X->v5.1.X->v6.X.X.

Because of the new user types in v6.X.X firmware and above, the v5.1.X Administrator user credentials will create an Administrator user with the same credentials on the v6.X.X system. The new Super User will also be configured with the username of 'apc' which cannot be changed, and your Administrator password. The device and read-only users will also be converted to the v6.X.X system with the same access level.

User creation/modification is no longer supported in config.ini. Adding users is now done by a special .CSF file. This file can be uploaded to add/modify users via commands but cannot be downloaded to view for security reasons. Current user preferences and settings can be seen in either the Command Line Interface (via local, telnet, or SSH) and the web interface. Default user settings relating to users are still visible in the config.ini for use as a "template" when adding additional users. Further information is available in knowledge base FA176542.

Email notification settings for each email recipient will be reset to their default configuration including frequency and interval. These are unable to be carried over during the upgrade due to differences between v5.1.X and v6.X.X.

The event log will be deleted due to the new event log format required in v6.X.X. If required, please back up your event log prior to upgrading. (The APC Firmware Upgrade Utility will back this up for you as well).

Certain settings may not carry over correctly (such as temperature scale preference) since they are handled differently in v6.X.X. Furthermore, temperature preference and other user preferences are now configurable on a per user basis in v6.X.X, rather than using a global setting by the administrator in v5.X.X.

Downgrading (not supported)

Please refer to some very important points above and below when you are considering downgrading your firmware, understanding that APC cannot support this action. It is recommended you back up your configuration file before downgrading to preserve as many settings as possible. Normally, APC does not recommend downgrading Network Management Card firmware in general unless you have a specific reason to (as suggested above). If you take that recommendation into account and still wish to downgrade, please review the following points.

When you are ready to begin the downgrade, you will need to do the file transfer manually (via FTP, SCP, or XMODEM) as the older versions prior to v2.20 of the Firmware Upgrade Wizard/Utility used in older firmware bundles blocks an AOS downgrade. Instructions are located in knowledge base article FA156047.

Downgrading to v5.1.X will reset many pieces of configuration data (including administrator username and password) to default after the v5.1.X AOS file transfer is complete. It is recommended that you back up your configuration file (config.ini) to preserve your settings which can be re-uploaded after the downgrade and consideration of the items below. Information on downloading and uploading a config.ini file can be found in knowledge base article FA156117
.

This means the default username/password for 'administrator' login will be apc/apc and you'll need to use apc/apc to connect to the card and finish the APP file transfer. (Alternatively, you can connect via Telnet/SSH/Local Console at this point and use the user command to modify the credentials immediately and then complete the APP transfer with the new credentials). The default 'device' and 'read only' users are also device/apc and readonly/apc respectively.

For users using APC PowerChute Network Shutdown software, a new "PCNS User Name" setting must be configured along with the existing authentication phrase for communication to work properly between the software and NMC. Upon upgrading, this setting will be carried over but per the next bullet point, you may need to re-configure it. This setting should be an administrator or device level user name that will also be the same user name you use for PowerChute Network Shutdown access. Historically, this was the NMC administrator user name on pre 6.0.X systems.

APC strongly recommends the user performs the formatfunction on their Network Management Card after downgrading to ensure the integrity of the device's databases. This wipes flash memory and any remaining configurations entirely, including your current TCP/IP settings. This step can be done one of two ways:

Press and hold the NMC's pinhole reset button for 20+ seconds, ensuring the NMC's status LED is pulsing green during this time. When it changes to amber or orange, let go of the reset button to let the format function complete and for the NMC to complete its reboot process.

Issue the format command via the command line via telnet, SSH, or local console. Issue a reboot command to complete the process.